


Stay Chill

by McBangle



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Carry On, Dex as Simon Snow, Don't worry, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Humor, I'm Sorry, M/M, Nursey as Baz, On Hiatus, Warnings will not change, but not all, following some parts of the Carry On plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 00:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10204499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McBangle/pseuds/McBangle
Summary: There’s no boy in Will's room.There should be, though - his roommate-slash-nemesis-slash vampire Derek Nurse is unexpectedly late to their eighth year at the Watford School of Magicks. Nursey would never miss the start of term. If he's gone, then there's only two possibilities: either he's off plotting somewhere or...Will doesn't even want to think about the alternative.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pugglemuggle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pugglemuggle/gifts).



> FandomTrumpsHate fic for Pugglemuggle, who requested a NurseyDex Carry On AU with angsty magic vampire-Nursey and wizard-Dex. I hope you like it, and I hope I did them justice!
> 
> Beta'ed by DizzyRedhead, who had great suggestions and made this much better. Thanks so much!
> 
> "Carry On," Watford and most of the plot points of this fic belong to Rainbow Rowell. [Check, Please!](http://omgcheckplease.tumblr.com/), William "Dex" Poindexter, Derek "Nursey" Nurse, Caitlin Farmer and other characters not named here due to spoilery reasons belong to Ngozi Ukazu. I highly recommend them both!

**WILL**

There’s no boy in my room.

There’s _supposed_ to be a boy in my room. The same obnoxious, pretentious, entitled prat who’s been in my room constantly for the last seven years, when he’s not skulking about the Wavering Wood.

I check his wardrobe – empty. It’s not like Nursey to arrive at Watford after I do. No matter what train I catch, he’s always here before I am, lounging on his bed with a poetry book or jotting in a diary – plotting against me, no doubt. He even made it to the room before I did after the Crucible paired us as roommates in our first year. While I was still wandering about Mummers House trying to locate our room, he had already claimed his bed and put his uniforms away. And _of course_ he’d chosen the bed closest to the loo, the wanker.

I flop down on my bed and knit my fingers under my head in my best imitation of him. I can’t wait to see the look on his stupid smug flawless face when he walks in this room and sees that I got here before he did for once. That’s right, rich boy, the kid from the children’s home got here before you did. Oh, did your fancy sports car get stuck in traffic? Too bad, the trains ran on time! And he’ll get in a strop and I’ll just say “Chill, Nurse” and then he’ll…

Actually, he probably won’t care much at all. Basically everything’s the same as usual except that I got here first for once. He doesn’t even have any stuff lying around for me to fuck with. Maybe I should take his bed. Should I take his bed? …No, after seven years it would feel odd to switch beds.

Right, then. I’ll just keep waiting here.

…

I check my watch. This is taking a _bit_ longer than I would have expected, actually.

…

I should probably just enjoy this, yeah? How often do I get the room to myself? Merlin, living with Nursey is a _nightmare_. We argue with each other all the time. He can’t actually hurt me inside our room – if he did, the Roommate’s Anathema would cast him out of Watford – but I’m positive he’s trying to kill me outside of our room. He tried to feed me to a chimera in our third year. Our fourth year, he pushed me down a flight of stairs.

Fifth year was worst of all: he tried to steal my voice. Without my voice, I wouldn’t be able to cast any spells. I would be nothing. A Normal. I feel a bit bad for being relieved even now that he accidentally took Philippa Stainton’s voice instead of mine. The Commentator said her parents would find a way to fix her voice, but. Well, she hasn’t come back, has she?

Fifth year. That was the year that I realized that Nursey’s a vampire. He was extra weird that whole year. He kept sneaking off; it was _so obvious_ he was plotting something. And every time I asked him about it, he would look at me like he couldn’t wait to get away from me. That smug git always thought he was so much better than everyone else.

So of course I did the only thing that made sense: I followed him. I saw him go into the Catacombs. And I saw him come out, with blood all over his mouth and chin.

My best friend, Caitlin, doesn’t believe me. She says I’m letting my imagination run away with me. _Pardon_? She should know me well enough by now to know that I don’t do flights of fancy. I’m not the poncy tosser who’s always making up magic words. I am rational and I know what I saw.

And when that blighter walks in here I will tell him I know what he is. I’ll tell him I know he’s a monster. _That_ will get the reaction I’ve been waiting for.

 

☆━ _X_ ━☆

 

**WILL**

“I missed you at breakfast. I saved a scone for you.” Caitlin drops a sour cherry scone wrapped in a napkin onto my desk and casts a quick **some like it hot**.

“Cai’, ’oo’re the _gweates’_ ,” I moan around a mouthful of scone. I knew I had a good reason for picking Caitlin Farmer as a best friend. True, she’s saved my life nearly as many times as she’s kept me from failing out of Watford but… no, I’m pretty sure bringing me a sour cherry scone is the best thing she’s ever done for me.

“You’re supposed to wait a minute or two for it to cool,” Cait clucks fondly, settling into the desk next to mine. “You’re going to burn your tongue.”

“It’d be worth it,” I sigh in delight, scavenging crumbs off the napkin and dropping them into my mouth.

“So where were you? You never miss breakfast.”

“Oh. Er.” I flush. “I was waiting for Nursey. I thought… He wouldn’t miss the first day of classes. I know he wouldn’t. If he doesn’t come to class today, something’s wrong.”

Nursey would never miss Magic Words. He’s spent seven years competing with Caitlin for top of class; he wouldn’t let his marks slide now. But more than that – he would never admit it, not to me, but he obviously _loves_ Magic Words.

Magic words have never come easily to me. Some days I feel like I’d rather just be building something or making something or doing something with my hands rather than constantly struggling to pronounce the exact words in the exact order exactly right. I can never find the right ones when I need them.

But not Nursey. I’d never tell him this, but he’s a genius at Magic Words. While the rest of us are memorizing nursery rhymes and metaphors and song lyrics, he’s making up his own. Miss Possibelf says he’s the only mage she’s ever known who’s successfully created new magic words while still at Watford.

In our first few years, it was always good for a laugh. Cait and I would roll our eyes every time he stood up in class to show off his latest poem, only to have… absolutely nothing happen. But ever since fifth year, he seems to have found some new motivation or something. All of a sudden his poncy poems actually make magic happen.

**Constellations on your skin** fills the air with stars. **Like amber orbs** produces two glowing gemstones floating in front of his chest.

And the worst part is, they only bloody seem to work for him! I don’t know how many times Caitlin has tried to cast **silken fire** to absolutely no effect!

“He’s still not back?” Caitlin wrinkles her nose sympathetically. “Honestly, Will, I’d think you’d be celebrating. The two of you hate each other. Now you have the whole room to yourself, you don’t have to worry where he is and what he’s planning all the time, you can relax and enjoy your final year at Watford.”

“If he doesn’t come back today, something’s wrong,” I repeat.

“He’s probably just taking the year off,” she reasons. “Eighth year _is_ optional, after all. In the old days, lots of students left Watford after seventh year.”

“Derek Malik Nurse, drop out of school a year early?” I scoff. Nursey loves Watford. No, more than that, Nursey desperately wants to live up to his late mother’s memory. Mandy Nurse was the last headmistress, before the Commentator. She died, protecting the school from an attack by dark creatures, when Nursey was very young. He’s never talked to me about it, but I’ve heard the stories. Plus, well, he talks in his sleep sometimes. And I listen sometimes. Well, a lot. At any rate. I’m positive Nursey wouldn’t drop out of Watford unless there was a very serious reason.

“He’s probably sitting on a beach in Ibiza,” Cait offers, weakly.

“Or plotting against me with the Old Families,” I shake my head. “Whatever it is, it’s not good.”

 

☆━ _X_ ━☆

 

**CAITLIN**

Will glances about the dining hall, the same way he’s looked about every room he’s entered for the past month.

“He’s not here, Will,” I sigh. “Now sit down and eat some roast beef. You look even paler than usual. Did you get any sleep last night?”

“Yes. A little,” he protests. “I was walking.”

“Looking for him, again?” I ask.

Will shovels a forkful of roast beef in his mouth, avoiding my question. At least he’s eating.

Will has been obsessed with his roommate all year. More obsessed than usual, that is. They always were obsessed with each other, but it used to be a rivalry thing. Nursey would say something to irritate Will, Will would throw a curse at him. Nursey would tell Will to chill, Will would barely contain his rage.

But ever since Nursey didn’t come back at the start of this term, it’s been different. Will really seems worried about him. It’s weird.

“He’s okay, Will,” I reassure him. “He’s… wherever he is, he’s probably okay.”

“How’s Chris doing?” he asks. Changing the subject. Obviously trying to derail the conversation.

And like a fool, I fall for it hook, line and sinker. I can’t help it, I love talking about Chris. He’s my favorite subject.

 

**WILL**

At least it’s easy to distract Caitlin. I learned soon after Cait and Chris started dating during fourth year that she would never pass up an opportunity to talk about him. She’s so easy. I’ve never seen anyone so stupidly in love.

 

**CAITLIN**

“Chris is great,” I sigh happily. “I miss him so much. I wish I could fly out to California to spend the holidays with him, but my parents are insisting I spend it with the family." I scowl. "They say it’s the last Christmas they won’t have to share me with Chris and they want to take full advantage. They act as if we were engaged.”

“Well, you practically are,” Will chirps. The traitor.

“No, we’re not,” I protest.

“Practically,” he speaks around a full mouth of roast beef.

“Not officially. Nobody’s made it official.”

“He will. Right after graduation. Like a second after graduation,” Will predicts.

Nicks and Slick, he can be infuriating. I mean, it would be nice if Chris proposed after graduation. It would be amazing, actually, but I’m not getting my hopes up just to see them crushed.

“American mages aren’t like that,” I argue. “They don’t believe in getting married young. He’ll go off to uni and meet some sexy American girl and he’ll forget all about me.” I pick amongst my greens with my fork. Suddenly, I’m not so hungry any more.

“Never.” Will pats my hand reassuringly.

“You don’t know how the Americans are,” I shake my head.

“I don’t need to know other Americans. I know Chris. There will be a ring on your finger within the year.”

“There’s a ring on my finger every day,” I protest, gesturing towards my magic ring.

Will rolls his eyes. “You know that’s not the kind of ring I mean.”

Both our heads jerk in the direction of a sudden clatter in the far end of the dining hall. “GRAN!” a young girl cries out, her glass crashing to the floor. She runs toward an indistinct figure and is quickly surrounded by her chattering classmates.

“Visitings have started,” I remark dryly before taking a sip of cider.

Will looks stricken. “What…? Did you…? That old lady just… appeared… in the middle of the dining hall. And did you see her? She looked… odd.”

Oh. Right. Sometimes I forget that Will didn’t have anyone to tell him about the World of Mages when he was growing up. Even after all these years, I forget how much is still new to him.

“That was a Visiting. A ghost.”

“A what?” I can practically see the gears grinding in Will’s brain. Honestly, I know he’s bright but sometimes he gets so stuck in a Normal mindset that he has to work twice as hard as the rest of us to grasp magickal concepts.

I set down my cup. Best to start from the basics, I suppose. “You know how every twenty years, the Veil separating the living from the dead lifts?” Will stares at me blankly. “Come on, Will, we learned this in Magickal History.”

“Oh,” he scoffs. “I slept through that class.”

“How in the world did you pass it?” Why did I even ask? I know the answer.

“You tutored me, and I snuck glances at Nursey’s notes while he was on the football pitch.”

Same old Will. I don’t know how he’d have survived Watford without my tutoring and Nursey’s… whatever it is between Will and Nursey.

I sigh and start over again. “Okay. Will. Every twenty years, the Veil lifts, making it easier for the dead to cross over.”

“Why are the dead behind a Veil?” he interrupts me.

“Not important right now, and _Siegfried and Roy_ , how did you pass that course?” I rub the heels of my hands into my eyes and take a deep breath. “Every twenty years, it’s easier for the dead to cross over and visit the living. _It doesn’t matter how_ ,” I cut him off sharply when he opens his mouth to speak. “They can visit their loved ones on Earth, but only for a short time, and only to deliver a message.”

“Like my great-aunt Sadie,” I continue. “She ran off with my great-grandmother’s jewels fifty years ago. She appeared to my mother twenty years ago, but my mother talked her ears off about all of the family gossip she’d missed out on, and Sadie disappeared behind the Veil before she could reveal her secrets! If Sadie visits me, you’d better believe I’ll find out what happened to the family jewels.” I tap emphatically on the dining table with my index finger.

Will grins deviously at me.

“What?” I snap.

“When you find those family jewels, you can use one of the rings to propose to Chris.”

I swear on Stevie Nicks’ name, the boy lives to torture me.

 

☆━ _X_ ━☆

**WILL**

After dinner, I take a walk out to visit old Jack at the barn. He’s a strange sort of fellow – he seems to like talking to his goats more than talking to people, although he’s taken me under his wing, I suppose. I like to talk with him when I’m feeling particularly stressed or worried, or when Nursey’s driving me mad. There’s something very calming about old Jack.

I’d never call him “old” Jack to his face, of course. It’s just a nickname the kids at Watford call him. He’d probably laugh if he knew we called him that. A quiet chuckle, without bitterness, and then he’d feed some more grain to his goats and comment on the weather or the quality of milk his goats have been producing of late. Or maybe it would make him sad. I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to make Jack sad. Something tells me he’s been sad enough in his life already.

I’m not really sure how old Jack is, but I suppose he could be anywhere from just a few years older than me to old enough to be my dad. Merlin, wouldn’t it be amazing if old Jack were my dad? But no, if Jack were my dad, he wouldn’t let me go this long without telling me. I’m not sure what sort of person would do something like that.

Jack looks up from the goat he’s been tending to and smiles warmly at me as I approach. “Will. Come on in. I’ve a fresh batch of goat’s milk inside.” He gestures towards the barn. Neither Jack nor I are hugging folks, and that suits us both just fine.

His barn is tidy and cozy, lit by a small fire. I settle into my usual chair at his table as he pours us each a warm cup of milk and fetches a chunk of cheese. I’ve just eaten my fill of roast beef, but I can always make room for Jack’s goat cheese and milk.

“So, how’ve the classes been going?” he asks as he settles at the table. “Keeping your marks up?”

“Ehhhhh…” I mutter.

He smiles kindly at this. “There’s more to life – and magic – than marks.”

“Tell that to Caitlin,” I chuckle.

“She may not be ready to hear this, but you can’t just keep going, going, going from one accomplishment to the next,” he says. “At some point you have to stop before you kill yourself, and ask yourself ‘am I doing the thing that I love?’ You have to find the thing that you love, Will, whatever it is. Like for me, I love my goats.”

I decide not to share with Jack exactly what Cait would think about my giving everything up to join Jack as a goatherd.

Jack gazes unflinchingly at me with his sad blue eyes as he takes a deep draw of goat’s milk. He sets his cup down. “What’s troubling you, Will? Really.”

I don’t try to deny it. Not to old Jack. “It’s my roommate.”

“Derek?” Jack asks.

“Nursey,” I correct.

“What’s he done now?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I say. “He’s not here, that’s the problem. He hasn’t been here all year.”

“And you’re worried about him,” he observes.

“I’m worried about whatever it is that he’s plotting.” I scuff the heel of my shoe across the floor. “He must be plotting against me, it’s the only thing that makes sense. If he’s been gone for so long, then he must be…” I can’t seem to finish that sentence.

“Is that really what you’re worried about?” Jack asks gently.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” I tidy up my plate and cup and clean the crumbs off the table. Anything to avoid Jack’s eyes. “This isn’t like him. It’s not like him. He wouldn’t just go off on holiday and miss the first month of school. He wouldn’t just drop out of school, that’s not Nursey. If he’s not here, then… something’s wrong.”

“So what are you going to do about it?” Jack asks quietly.

“I… I don’t know. Should I talk to the Commentator?”

“Do you think the Commentator will help?” he asks.

“Is… isn’t he supposed to? Isn’t that his job? Isn’t he supposed to help his students?”

“I don’t know.” Jack goes quiet for several long moments. “I guess he is.”

 

☆━ _X_ ━☆

 

**WILL**

I don’t know why I even bother trying to sleep. I’d rather be walking the Wavering Wood. I’d rather be searching the Catacombs. I’d rather be standing atop the ramparts watching for Nursey’s return.

I roll over and punch my pillow a few times. Who am I kidding? How could I possibly sleep? Nursey’s been gone for nearly two months. I’ve spoken to everyone I can think of, and no one’s heard a word from him, not even his footballer friends, Justin and Adam.

If he’s been gone this long with no contact with anyone from Watford, then there’s only two possibilities. Either he’s off somewhere plotting against the Coven with the Old Families and a war’s about to begin, or…

I don’t even want to think about the alternative. And that doesn’t make any sense. He’s tried to kill me, at least three times that I know of. I should be relieved that Nursey’s gone. I should be enjoying my final year. That’s what Caitlin tells me. And instead I’m spending every waking moment wondering where my bloody roommate is.

I glance at his empty bed. Caitlin wanted to bunk here – her roommate’s been driving her mad – but I wouldn’t let her. It still doesn’t seem right. The term may be nearly half over, but it’s still his bed. This is still his room.

He should be lying in that bed, writing in his diary and complaining about the cold. Or doing Merlin knows what in the Catacombs. Even if he were off drinking someone’s blood, at least I’d know where he was. At least he’d be at Watford.

I yawn. Maybe the lack of sleep _is_ catching up to me. I suppose a little catnap wouldn’t hurt anything. I’ll wake up in a few hours and go out to look for Nursey again. Or think up a plan. Or…

…

When I awaken, the room is positively frigid. I pull the blanket tighter, but it barely touches the cold spreading to my bones. Let alone the overpowering melancholy. If I were the crying sort, I would be bawling. As it is, I can barely hold back the sniffles, and I’ve no idea why.

“Like, where _is_ he?” a feminine voice wails behind me.

I bolt upright, scrambling for my wand.

A wispy figure hovers over Nursey’s bed. I can see the wall right through her, and yet I can make out the details of her face, her almond eyes, and her dark hair in a high ponytail with a dated poufy fringe. A Visitor. And it’s the strangest thing. I feel somehow as if I know her from somewhere, and yet I’m positive I’ve never met this woman in my life.

“He’s supposed to be here,” she moans. “Like, I keep coming back? Over and over? But he’s never here. I don’t have a lot of time left. I am _freaking out_ right now. Where is he?”

“Who are you?” I point my wand at her and crab walk backwards until my neck and shoulders press against the wall.

“I _know_ you didn’t just point a wand at me.” She arches an eyebrow imperiously, and suddenly I know exactly where I know her from. I suppose the red Headmistress’s robes – precisely like her portrait hung outside the Commentator’s office – should have been a dead giveaway, but when she smirks at me she reminds me so much of her son that it takes my breath away.

Mandy Nurse. Nursey’s mum.

“Like, I gotta roll,” she whines. “The Veil is gonna fall any minute. If I don’t talk to Derek now, I won’t get another chance for twenty years. Ugh.” She pulls a face. “I guess I’m stuck with you, then.” She swoops in close to my face, suddenly terribly serious.

“Tell my son to find my killer. Tell Derek that my killer lives. Balthazar knows the truth. Find Balthazar. Tell Derek. Promise me you’ll tell him!” she pleads desperately.

“I will,” I promise. I mean it. I will.

“Thank you.” I can actually see the tension seep out of her. She’s starting to go blurry. All the colour seems to be draining from her, starting at the hem of her robes and moving upward. “Give this to Derek?” She kisses my temple. It feels like ice against my skin. “Tell him I love him.”

And then she fades, right before my eyes, into nothingness.

 

☆━ _X_ ━☆

 

**CAITLIN**

Will looks worse than usual this morning. He has dark bags under his eyes, like he didn’t sleep a wink last night. And he’s far too thin. He’s not eating enough. He’s barely picking at his breakfast.

I worry about him. This obsession with Nursey is not healthy. And he’s not going to pass Magic Words if he’s too knackered to pay attention in class, no matter how much Miss Possibelf might pity him.

I’m going to tell him. I’m going to tell him that enough is enough. If none of the faculty here are going to act like adults and tell him to focus on his schoolwork then I will do it for them. I will tell him harsh truths that he doesn’t want to hear, even if it hurts our friendship. I will look him in the eye, and tell him–

“I need to tell you something,” he whispers conspiratorially, glancing about.

Oh, thank Morgana.

“Cait. Last night I… I saw…” Will abruptly turns and stares at something over my left shoulder. His jaw drops, and the sour cherry scone falls from his hand onto the dining hall table. That’s a sight I never thought I’d see.

There’s some sort of commotion happening behind me. At the next table, Tony and Rafael have both pushed their chairs back and appear to be looking in the same direction as Will is. I turn to see what all the fuss is about.

 

**WILL**

Great snakes. He’s back.

Derek Nurse leans casually against the double-door entrance to the dining hall, reading a book and acting for all the world as if he had just slept late for some ordinary breakfast.

He looks far from ordinary. His uniform and his dark curls may be artfully arranged in his favorite “just rolled out of bed like this” style, but the rest of him gives the lie to his attempts at playing it cool. He’s paler than usual, and far too thin. His green eyes look duller than I’ve ever seen them.

I’m on my feet before I know what I’m doing. I’m vaguely aware of other students murmuring around the dining hall. He’s gone and made himself the centre of attention, as usual.

“What?” He glances up from his book and rolls his eyes. “Chill, everybody.”

**Author's Note:**

> Next: Nursey POV! More character introductions (although, if a Carry On character who had appeared by this point in the book still hasn't appeared at this point in the fic, then they probably won't appear in future chapters unless I have a brainwave)! And Will should probably talk with someone about that Visiting, shouldn't he?


End file.
